


Tomorrow's Answers

by prototyping



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth tries to figure out feelings, Dimitri has too many of them, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28194288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prototyping/pseuds/prototyping
Summary: The evening before the march to Enbarr, Byleth and Dimitri each consider the past and what it means for their futures.Written for day 1 of DimitriWeek2020, “mourning.”
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 11
Kudos: 68





	Tomorrow's Answers

As a mercenary, there had only been the present, with _tomorrow_ always hanging on whether she made it through the day.

As a professor, she’d had her hands full with work and her mind busy with learning what it meant to _not_ be a mercenary.

As an asset to the war, she’d started wandering back towards her mercenary mindset, only considering the future as far as what it meant for the army.

Now, standing before her father’s grave on the night before the decisive battle for Fodlan, his words came back to Byleth with a different weight to them than before.

_One day, I hope you’ll give this ring to someone you love as well as I love her._

Someone she would spend the rest of her life with.

She suddenly wished she’d responded to him then. She regretted that she hadn’t asked him the reason for his remark—whether he was just making conversation or he was looking out for her because he knew that he wouldn’t be around forever.

She regretted that she hadn’t asked him more about her mother while she had the chance. That was the most he had ever talked about her; maybe she could have convinced him to tell her more, about how they had met and how he had known that she was someone special.

How did one figure out something like that? How could she be sure?

With a silent sigh, Byleth studied the ring in her hand. Her father had taught her so much about surviving. She wished she had thought to stop and ask him about _living_.

As caught up as she was in her thoughts, they immediately scattered when she sensed someone watching her. She turned around quickly, shoving the ring back into her pocket.

Halfway up the graveyard staircase stood Dimitri. He was watching her with an uncertain expression, his body angled as though he were debating turning back the way he’d come. He stiffened when their gazes met, but something in his face immediately softened.

For an uncertain moment neither of them spoke. Byleth recovered first.

“Did you need something?”

“No,” he said quickly. “No—forgive me, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t.” She offered a small smile and beckoned him closer in invitation.

He joined her with an appreciative nod, but she noticed that his poise seemed off as he approached. He looked… tense, his steps light and measured as though he were intruding on somewhere he didn’t belong. He almost looked lost, except his gaze immediately moved to one grave in particular, a couple down from Jeralt’s headstone.

Ah.

Byleth was silent, waiting for a sign that he had something more to say or simply wanted to be alone. She didn’t have to wait long.

“This… is my first time here,” Dimitri admitted. His good eye narrowed, a pained look. “To be honest, I didn’t want to face him yet. I had hoped to visit after everything was said and done—once I saw my goals through to the end—but…” He sighed briefly, nearly silently, as he stared at Rodrigue’s grave. “If I don’t come back from this battle…”

He didn’t sound worried, Byleth thought, just sad. Uncertain.

“You will,” she assured him quietly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Dimitri glanced at her, a crooked smile pulling slowly at his mouth. Something in her chest coiled at the sight—not painfully, but noticeably, as though she’d breathed in something warm and tingling. That seemed to happen a lot lately, and only around him. “If anyone could guarantee such a thing, it would be you. But I would prefer knowing you were fighting as hard as you could to keep yourself alive.”

She shook her head. “I’m not the one the country needs. You know it’s only logical to prioritize your safety.”

His smile faded as he turned back to the grave. “...He would say the same thing, I’m sure. But the longer this war goes on, the more I question what ‘logic’ really is.” His expression darkened. “Why should one man’s life be unquestionably elevated above the rest? Why is it expected of others to die for my sake, when they are the only reason I stand here today?” His leather gloves creaked as his hands tightened at his sides. “To be founded on such a way of thinking… even if you attempt to separate morality from the government, what could be more vulnerable than a system that hinges on a single person?” His voice had dropped, his tone difficult to read.

When he didn’t speak for a few moments, Byleth prodded gently, “Dimitri?”

The tension in his shoulders suddenly loosened. “I’m sorry. That’s hardly the sort of thing to be saying before such an important battle.” He turned towards her, although his gaze lingered on the grave for a few more beats. “I… have been thinking lately, about many things. There is much I would like to change as king—or at the very least, there are things I would like to reexamine. Traditions that need reevaluating.”

Byleth let a hint of surprise slip onto her face. “I didn’t realize you were thinking that far ahead.”

“I try to. But I might be too idealistic in my way of thinking.”

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing.” She crossed her arms, her gaze drifting to the distant skyline in thought. “You’re intelligent enough to know your limits, and kind enough to consider the weight of your actions on others. I think… that’s the sort of leader who _should_ question things. Even if you can’t change everything you want to change, I’m confident you’ll still do what you can. Knowing you, I’m confident it will be for the best.”

She smiled as she turned back to him. Dimitri looked stunned, his eye wide for a moment before he collected himself. “ _Kind_ , you say,” he murmured. “If I didn’t know you to be as honest as you are…”

He trailed off, frowning, but the expression soon faded. “Thank you, Professor. Coming from you, that means… more than I can express.”

She assumed that was because of her honesty, although she couldn’t fathom why he didn’t look her in the eye as he said so.

“At any rate,” he added after a moment, “I trust you to have my back in this battle, as always. But please… look after yourself, as well.” He hesitated, and then added quietly, “I could hardly consider the war won if I lost you.”

It was Byleth’s turn to stare, but Dimitri didn’t falter beneath her gaze this time. She knew he cared for her, of course, but the weight of his tone, the grief already in his gaze at the very thought of her dying…

She gave what she hoped was a comforting smile. “I don’t plan on dying. But if I did, I know you’d do just fine without me.” He had many people to count on, plenty of loyal friends who would see him through to whatever end he chose.

“I’m afraid you overestimate me, Professor.” He gave a low, humorless chuckle, and then glanced once more at the graves of their loved ones. “...My victory will mean killing Edelgard. I’ve accepted it. After that… I don’t wish to mourn anyone else dear to me. Not for a long time.”

As Byleth watched him, she couldn’t help a sudden urge to reach out and touch him. She wasn’t sure what she meant by it, or if it would make any sort of difference to the anxiety plaguing him, but she nonetheless took a half-step closer and placed her hand on his arm.

“Hey,” she said gently, drawing his gaze back to her. “We’ll be okay. We’ve got too much work ahead of us to go dying now. I don’t think we’ll get out of it that easily.”

Dimitri laughed again, a bit more genuine than before. “Indeed. Such is our lot in life, it seems.”

She gave his arm a fond squeeze. Before she could let go, his hand settled atop hers. It was light, not at all holding her in place, but the buzz it sent along her skin made her linger all the same.

Just for a moment, and then his touch fell away as he cleared his throat softly. “Well. Speaking of which, there is still much to be done before tomorrow. Thank you for speaking with me, and for putting my mind a little more at ease.”

Byleth withdrew, her fingers warm despite the cold touch of his armor. Her face felt a little heated, as well. “We’ll do this again,” she promised. “Once the war’s over.”

Dimitri’s face softened and that feeling in her chest tightened again. “Yes. I would like that.”

She stayed a few minutes more after he left, her thoughts following him while her eyes lingered on her parents’ graves. She felt the ring’s weight in her pocket.

For the first time, she considered the possibility that her father had been intentionally vague in that conversation. Maybe he’d known there were some things she should figure out on her own.

With her chest still tight and her face still warm, Byleth felt as though she was a few steps closer to doing so.


End file.
